Iowa State University Top Questions

Football and basketball.

The biggest club at ISU is Dance Marathon. Dance Marathon is a great introductory club because it doesn't require tons of time, you just have to fundraise money and then spend 15 hours dancing with great people. Other clubs are often pre-professional or major related, such as Pre-Vet club. Intramural and club sports are also very popular, and the tournament t-shirts are coveted prizes at the end of the season. There are so many clubs at Iowa State, it's hard not to be involved.

The most popular things on campus are definitely philanthropic in nature. Dance marathon is very big as is relay for life. Homecoming and Veishea are also very big events each year

Some really popular activities are Dance Marathon, the Greek community and attending sporting events. A large percentage of students at Iowa State are in a Greek house and it has been one of the most rewarding and fun experiences I have had here. Dance Marathon is the largest student-run philanthropy on campus and that also has a large following. This will be my second year participating and I love it more and more each day. Sporting events are also a hugely populated activity, especially the football games. It's a great way to get to know people and have a lot of fun.

The most popular student group would have to be the Greek System. A lot of people belong to it and they a well-knit community that gets a lot done for the school and community.

Athletes get all the attention here at ISU. Tons of ISU money goes to these programs in order to showcase the talent of many individuals on this campus. Second would be traditional greeks, although their money comes from fundraising events, there is a high population of students who are greeks and who always hold events to not only bring awareness about their sorority/fraternity on campus but to also help out the community.

Iowa State has tons to do on the weekends. I usually make lists of all the things going on on the weekends that sounds fun, and then I have to pick because I can't go to them all. there are dances, plays, competitions, parties, sporting events, concerts, speakers. Like I said in the overview, there are so many things going on that sometimes you can get a little lost in it all. I lived in the dorms for three years, and it was great. I knew most of the guys on my floor, and everyone left their doors open when they were around. We were an all male floor, so we competed with the other guys' floors to woo an all-female floor to be our "sister floor" and had events with them all year. I met my best friends through the marching band, which is the second best decision I ever made in my life (after coming to ISU)

I met my closest friends through other friends, classes, and work. VEISHEA is a great event that happens each year. Depends what kind of person you are. If you wanted you could find a party every night, but if you don't want to party you don't have to. A lot of people go to the bars which are right off campus. Sorority houses and fraternities aren't super important. You don't have to be a part of one to be cool or anything like that. Last weekend i went out one night and the other i stayed in. You can go to movies go for a walk or hang out or go out to eat--those don't involve drinking.

The dorms were awesome. I only lived in them for a year, but our floor in Willow Hall got along so well; most everyone kept their doors open & most everyone got along. The people that I lived with for the next three years who were my best friends in college were people I met on my dorm floor. Keep an open mind, freshman year is so much fun if you're just willing to meet people and try new things.

Iowa State's different clubs and groups as well as the college itself hold many different events. I enjoyed going to many different concerts this past year. I also enjoyed other activities from swing dancing to lectures by famous authors. And of course at Iowa State there is the world renowned VEISHA, which is always a treat.

Athletic events are attended by a very hardcore group of fans. Most other fans just like to tailgate and hope the Cyclones win. Most of my closest friends I met on my dormitory floor freshman year. You can find a large number of people out at bars pretty much any day of the week, but starting Thursday evening and ending Sunday night, a huge majority of the partiers are out.

There are many ways to get involved at Iowa State. Living in the residence halls freshmen year is a great way to meet people. Often times students leave their doors open so friends can walk in and out. Floors often hang out as friends, eat dinner, hang out, and even do homework together. Students may also decide to join the greek community which expands the range of people that you meet and a lot of the times have friends inside of the residence halls and in their houses. Joining clubs are also a great way to meet people, there is often a club fair that happens at the beginning of each semester to recruit new members. An activity that I am involved in is the marching band. It was an amazing way to meet people because I moved in a few days before everyone else did and when classes started I already knew people! Hanging out with friends at Iowa State is awesome too. Students who are not of age to drink can still have fun on the weekends. There is the Memorial Union where students can play bingo or even go midnight bowling. There is ISU After Dark which hosts free movie nights and fun activities. Students can shop at the local mall, dine at Perkins or Hickory Park, watch movies at the Dollar Theater or Cinema 12, go bowling, watch theatre at C.Y. Stephens, or just hang out in the residence halls. Many people I know sometimes venture to Des Moines to enjoy a change of scenery.

ISU has a ton of clubs on campus, and if you do not find one that you like, all that you need are 3 friends and you can start your own. Friley is the dorm that is closest to the engineering side of campus and in my experience most people keep their doors open when they are around which is a great way to meet people. The University brings comedians, plays, ballets, bands, orchestras and other great groups to perform on campus. We have a variety of venues including Hilton coliseum, CY Stevens Auditorium and then the more intimate M-shop at the Memorial union. In the summer/fall movies are also projected outside on central campus. I don't think that the frats and soroities rule the shcool by any means. There are parties on the weekend, but they are not dominant. There is a student festival in the spring called Veisha which lasts a week. Last weekend I travelled with the Crew Club to a regatta (race) in MN, good times.

If I am awake at 2am on a Tuesday I am working for a class. Some members of sororities and fraternities go out on any weekday evening. Tradition: VEISHA and campaniling! Specific groups of people party a lot. Others party less often. Fraternities and sororities are important to the people in them. On a Saturday night you could go out to dinner with friends, go to a movie with friends, hang out at someone's place, or go out of town.

I love going out- it's a great part of college. I love meeting new people every weekend and being able to relax after a stressful week.

The social life here at ISU is very exciting and fun. I really like the greek social lives, it helps et me very involved in the University.

I'm a member of the Greek community and I feel that this has given me the opportunity to make the huge ISU campus into a smaller and more manageable community.

Intramurals are a very big part of Iowa State and very popular among the student body.

Iowa State students are some of the nicest people you will meet. When I lived in the dorms, I never locked my door. Greek life is pretty popular on campus. Most of the leadership roles on campus, (Government Student Body, Homecoming, etc.) are filled by Greeks. So are most of the philanthropic organizations. I have met my closest friends through Greek life. If you want to get involved on campus, you want to be Greek. People party every weekend. Every night, actually. Now, we don't have a big "party school" reputation, but we still know how to bring it. Every spring we have VEISHEA, which is an old tradition meant to celebrate all the colleges of the university, but really equals lots of drinking. We have concerts during the weekend, and everyone gets smashed. One year, a riot broke out, leading to flaming dumpsters and tear gas. VEISHEA was cancelled that next year. This year, the administration is demanding money for the once previous free concerts, and are also limiting the number of people able to go to these concerts to about half what normally go. There is talk of riots again this year. Which probably means some really drunk people yelling "riot!" and being promptly arrested. People are pissed about the changes, but I think they will resort to drinking rather than organized protest. To be honest, there is not a whole lot to do that doesn't involve drinking. I mean, there are movies, and bowling. That is about it. I suppose if you are a dude, you can hang out with your friends and play halo. That just isn't very socially acceptable for girls. The music sucks here. We rarely get good acts booked. For instance, this year, Eve 6 will be headlining for VEISHEA. You have to go to Minnealpolis or Chicago if you want to see a good show. You have to be 21 to go to the bars here, so there is alot of house party/ parties at fraternities.

There isn't a most popular organization or club on campus. So many students are involves in various activities that not any particular one stands out to me. Athletic events are semi-popular along with shows or other events on campus. I met my closest friends in the activities on got involved in. I even keep in contact with some of the people I met in the dorms. On a typical weekend I am usually with my friends taking a break from academics. We do all sorts of things like play games, rent movies, go to movies, make dinner, go shopping, what we can do is endless. Partying is what I'm here for so I personally choose not to do it often. Some people here party every night of the week while others never drink, ever. Fraternities and sororities are not important. They are a good way to meet people and find different networks but I wouldn't call that important. They do great things however. By this I mean philanthropies. Greeks raise so much money to donate to charities which is a powerful thing that many non-greeks cannot do simply becasue they dont have a lot of people.